


Come at DK, You Best Not Miss

by partitioning (agencymesa)



Category: Glee, The Wire
Genre: Best Friends, Canon Gay Character, Character Study, Friendship, Gen, Male Friendship, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-29
Updated: 2011-09-29
Packaged: 2017-10-24 03:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/258717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agencymesa/pseuds/partitioning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Azimio thinks Dave should watch The Wire and Dave begins to accept himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come at DK, You Best Not Miss

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a random thought that Dave Karofsky needs a role model he can relate to. Spoilers: Up to the end of Glee season two, some events in the first season of The Wire but I don't think it would greatly alter one's enjoyment of the show.

**i got the wire really cheap on amazon. now you have to watch it.**

Azimio was not happy with Dave - not after everything that had happened at the end of the year with the Bully Whips and Prom - so when Azimio showed up on his doorstep a few days after Dave had received the text holding out a grey dvd box set and told him, "if you still want to be bros, you will watch this," Dave just nodded and took the box from his friend.

"There's something in it that I think you need to see," Azimio said a little less firmly than his previous ultimatum. "I'mma check your progress in a few days," he said before turning to leave, presumably expecting Dave to drop everything and start watching now. Apparently that's what bros do for their bros.

According to Azimio, The Wire was the best show on tv ever. He had been telling Dave to watch it forever and clearly he was getting tired of Dave dragging his feet to watch it. First, Dave complained that he didn't want to watch a cop show - the ones he saw on basic cable bored him - but Zee had said, "It's not like that, man. Those shows have, like, one case per episode. The Wire has a case per season." He had said this with a huge grin on his face like it was something extremely interesting but Dave wasn't sold. A cop show is a cop show, right? Then he had explained that he was too busy to watch a whole show but it was summer now and he couldn't claim to be too busy with school and sports anymore. His third excuse was that he didn't have the money to just go out and buy a DVD of some show he's never seen regardless of how highly Zee recommended it.

What Dave wouldn't tell Zee was that it seemed like a really serious show and Dave had enough personal drama to deal with in his life. Not that Dave could talk to Zee about any of that. He was starting to think that part of why Azimio was so pissed at him was because he could tell that Dave wasn't telling him something. Not only was Dave defending nerds and talking more to people he's not supposed to be talking to, but he was hiding something from Azimio. Something huge. Something you're supposed to talk to your best friend about. Dave felt guilty about lying to his friend, he really did, but panic would shoot through his body every time Zee would eye him warily and ask, "what's your deal?" He couldn't say. He wasn't ready. Not yet.

Now here he was. Summertime. Nothing to do. No school. No practice. With five seasons of a tv show in his hands. A show that Azimio had threatened to disown him if he didn't watch. No excuses.

Dave looked at the box in his hands, admiring how nicely packaged it was then feeling stupid for thinking something so pointless. But really it was very nice. A lot of time and money had gone into making something so nice. Probably because Zee was right and it was, in fact, the best tv show ever. He opened the box, pulled out the first season and put the first disc into his DVD player.

  
Two hours into watching, Dave has two overriding thoughts. First was "this is good." Second was "there are a lot of characters." It's a little overwhelming but Dave handles it by getting out his binder from last school year, taking out some blank paper, turns on the subtitles and takes notes, jotting down names, descriptions and events that seem to stand out. There are cops and drug dealers. And junkies. And a vigilante. Informants. Criminals. Drunks. And it's complicated. And deep. And almost everyone is a badass.

There's a scene where one of the drug dealers explains how to play chess to a couple of the kids who work for him. "The king stays the king," he says and Dave likes this; he writes it down. 

The one guy, the guy who robs drug dealers, Omar, is interesting - definitely a badass - and Dave immediately wants to know more. As Dave watches the fourth episode, he pays special attention when Omar comes back on the screen. Omar sits with his partners-in-crime on the steps to a building, counting money from the score. Dave's breath catches as he sees Omar reach toward the guy next to him, lovingly running his hand through the guy's hair, sees Omar kiss the other guy's forehead. Dave pauses the screen and processes what he's just seen. Omar is the kind of guy that you don't want to fuck with. He's really tough. And he's also gay and he doesn't hide it. 

He keeps watching. Dave laughs his ass off watching a scene where Bunk and Jimmy investigate a crime scene and the only words they say is "fuck" or some variation of the word. He finds the scene on YouTube and posts it to his Facebook. Azimio likes it. 

Omar walks down the street, whistling, and people run. They run right into his trap. It reminds Dave of the way people get out of his way when he walks down the halls of McKinley. Omar kisses Brandom and Dave thinks about how nice it would be to have someone to kiss, someone to protect and care about like Omar cares for his boy. (Dave tells himself not to think about how nice it would be if Kurt Hummel was that someone.) Something bad is going to happen to Brandon and Dave feels a twinge of nerves as the Barksdale guys play phone tag and come after him. The next episode opens with Omar's boy's tortured body spread across the hood of a car and Dave feels sick. He thinks about what he might be capable of if someone hurt his hypothetical boyfriend (definitely not Kurt Hummel) like that... or in any way. 

They come after Omar and miss. He says, "Come at the king, you best not miss," and Dave thinks he has his new motto. He pulls up the Facebook app on his phone and quotes Omar. Azimio likes this also.

  
 **coming over. its time for our wire talk.**

Azimio gives him a week and then sends the text. Dave puts on some semi-clean clothes in time to answer the door when the doorbell rings. When the fist bump greeting is out of the way, Zee follows Dave into the living room to sit on the couch. They're quiet for awhile. Dave looking around the room to avoid eye contact with Azimio who is looking at him seriously.

"So..." Dave begins awkwardly.

"Yeah?" Azimio replies.

"How's it going?"

"Good," he says then asks, "So, The Wire."

"Yeah."

"How many episodes have you watched?"

"Um, I don't know. Like, eight or nine?"

"What do you think?"

"It's good. I like it."

"Okay, what do you like about it?"

"I don't know. I like a lot about it. I don't even know where to start."

"Okay, so which characters do you like?"

"Um, well. I like Dee. That scene where he talks about chess. And, uh, Bubbles. And Stringer Bell! And Jimmy and Bunk," Dave replied. "There's a lot and they're all badass."

"What about Omar? Isn't he awesome?"

"Yeah, he is. He really, really is. He's probably my favorite."

"Mine too. Like, at first I was weirded out that he was gay but, like, he's such a badass, it don't even matter. Like, if a guy like that is gay at least he can defend himself around assholes like me."

Dave's jaw drops at what his friend says and shakes his head slightly in confusion. His friend who is looking at him like he supposed to   
understand something significant. And that something significant couldn't possibly be what Dave thinks it might be. Azimio doesn't know. But Azimio's looking at him like they're not just talking about The Wire.

Azimio sighs, "Honestly, gay dudes make me uncomfortable but I don't hate them. I'm a bully, I know I am, but it's not about the gay thing. I just like picking on weaklings but if a dude was gay and a badass like Omar, I mean, I wouldn't have a problem with that. As long as he doesn't hit on me or whatever."

Dave can hear his pulse pounding in his ears as he tries to process what Zee is saying to him. 'Why are we talking about this?' he wonders, panicked. Dave waits until he calms down a little before he can finally speak.

"So you're saying that if there was a guy at McKinley who was a badass who was also gay, you would be okay with that?" Dave asks, as evenly as possible though anyone who knows him could hear the panic hiding below the surface.

Azimio snorts, "Yeah, DK. If there was  _someone_  at school who was a gay vigilante badass, it would be cool."

"Vigilante?"

"Yeah, like if there was a badass guy at McKinley who went around and told their bros not to make the twerps give up their lunch money and spent a lot of his time staring at the gay guy in the glee club because he's totally gay for him, it would be okay," Azimio says, then looks at him pointedly.

Dave's jaw drops for the second time in the conversation. He can't speak. Azimio knows. He knows and he's telling Dave that he's okay with it. How long has he known? How did he figure it out? Has he told anyone else? Is he really okay with it or is he gonna turn around and kick Dave's ass for it later? The questions race through Dave's mind but he can't say anything. He can't speak.

"Dude, Dave, it's okay, man. Just tell me," Azimio says after watching Dave's thoughts play out on his face, putting a reassuring hand on Dave's shoulder.

Dave takes a deep breath and squeezes his eyes shut, steeling himself for the words he needs to say.

"I'm... like Omar," he says lamely and Azimio laughs.

"You're gay."

"Yeah."

"Thought so," Azimio replied confidently.

"How did you know?"

"I've always kinda wondered. Whenever the guys'd talk about girls you just didn't seem comfortable and then when you would talk about it, I could tell you weren't telling the truth. I know you pretty well, man. You can't hide that shit from me," Azimio explained. "Then the whole thing with Hummel happened and I knew there was more to that and you were different when he transferred to that other school. Like, I could tell you missed him. Then the whole Bully Whips thing happened and you got him to come back to school and I hated that you didn't want to hang with me as much but I knew you had your reasons. And also you're 'dating' Santana," Azimio uses air quotes.

"You know about Santana?"

"I'm a keen observer of the human condition," Azimio deadpans.

"Have you told anyone?"

"I talked to your beard. She thinks you're totally obvious about Hummel too."

Dave cringes, "Do you think he notices?"

"Ha, probably. Dude loves being the center of attention. Probably gets off on it."

"Ugh, no. He doesn't get off on anything involving me," Dave says firmly, a pang of heartbreak shoots through his chest.

"Oh yeah? Why not?" Azimio challenges.

"He's got a pretty boy boyfriend."

"So let's find a way to break them up."

Dave shakes his head, "I'm not his type."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Have you seen the way he looks at you?" Azimio says and Dave looks confused. "Keen observer of the human condition, remember?"

Dave can't even begin to entertain the thought that Kurt might be even remotely interested in him. Not here, not now, so he changes the subject, "Do you think I should come out at school?"

"Yeah, totally, especially if you ever want to get anywhere with your boy," Azimio says grinning. "But you might want to work on being able to say 'I'm gay.' If you say, 'I'm like Omar,' there'll be, like, ten people who understand," Azimio pauses. "Unless I sit the entire student body down in the auditorium and force them to watch The Wire then you can point at Omar and say, 'I'm like that guy.'" 

Dave can't help but laugh at the image before saying, "But I'm gonna get the shit kicked out of me."

Azimio shrugs, "Come at DK, you best not miss."


End file.
